A Heaven's Rage
by StarzAngelus
Summary: The Silver Millennium is dead and Serenity is very angry... reincarnation isn't all its cracked up to be.


**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Sailor Moon.

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**Prologue**

For the briefest of moments, she almost felt pity. She was supposed to protect the innocent, not feel sorry for the demonic beings that only set out to harm them.

Sailor Moon watched as the last wisp of magic engulfed the black dust that was once a monster and fade away into the pavement, leaving no sign that there had been a supernatural battle taking place in front of Shinjuku Station. They had been lucky, the attack happening during the night when there were less lines, and the few hurt were only unconscious.

As the crowds began to gather and the distant sounds of sirens became more clear, she turned to her second in command, the elusive yet capable Sailor Venus. The soft lines of her face were pinched into a deep frown, a far call from her usual composed self. It was in these moments of near and almost complete chaos that Sailor Moon felt the urge-- no, the _need_ to turn to the beautiful soldier, as if she was the true conductor of their small group of female warriors. But that was absurd, _she _was Sailor Moon, the champion of Love and Justice, and leader of the Sailor Senshi.

As her cheeks began to burn in embarrassment for feeling inadequate again, a small voice, a whisper really, rang out. "Sailor Moon?"

She turned, giving a questioning glance to Sailor Mercury. "Yes?"

The petite girl remained quiet, merely nodding her head towards the people, a near imperceptible smile gracing her small lips, and it seemed as if her eyes turned an even deeper shade of blue. After a moment of silent conversation, the girl-woman waved and ran into the darkness of the train tracks leaving Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus to face the masses.

"I suppose that marks my exit," said Sailor Venus, with a small and rare smile. And then she was leaping across the railroad cars with the grace of a dancer or a bird, Sailor Moon thought, or maybe she truly was flying.

It took only a two seconds before Sailor Moon realized that she was being left alone again, and then she too began jumping, leaving the gaping crowd to manage for themselves.

"Wait!" she called out, trying not to sound desperate. With ragged breaths and her heartbeat in her ears, she ran after Sailor Venus, grasping the last bit of courage, hoping to finally have a real conversation with the blonde girl. "Please, just wait!"

Her strides did get smaller, perhaps in hesitation, but Sailor Moon's heart plummeted as Sailor Venus continued to maintain the same speed. Sailor Moon, however, refused to give up, not for this, and she continued the chase until she was sure that they were outside Tokyo's city limits. The moonless night was clear allowing a small sprinkle of stars to litter across the sky and right when Sailor Moon decided that this game was foolish, Sailor Venus abruptly stopped. Sailor Moon stopped a few feet behind her, greeted only by a mind-numbing silence, her courage once again slipping away.

"I--" she began and then snapped her mouth shut with an audible click. Why had she followed her? She knew that she had practiced what she was going to say before but it seemed as if her brain had chosen the most inopportune moment to shut down. It was the first time that she had ever been alone with Sailor Venus, an act that she would not have been brave enough to do earlier. But it had been weeks now… no, had it been months? Sailor Moon wasn't sure, but she knew that they were strangers no longer, that they were partners and comrades and whatever other privilege was given to people who fought together, side-by-side, often in near-death situations. And Sailor Venus had, of course, saved her life before on more than one occasion and that alone entitled Sailor Moon to some sort of communication.

The fluttering of her bangs tickling her forehead brought Sailor Moon out of her thoughts, and suddenly she knew exactly what to say.

"Thank you," she said simply. It was heartfelt, she thought… and past-due.

The next few moments were almost agonizing as Sailor Moon felt perspiration trickling down the back of her neck. She ran a gloved hand across her moist forehead.

"You don't need to thank me," came the stern reply.

Sailor Moon felt herself tense, as if being reprimanded. "But I do," she whispered.

"No," Sailor Venus said, turning to Sailor Moon, her long hair whipping across her face. "It is my duty and honor to fight at your side. I should be showing _you_ my gratitude."

As she looked into Sailor Venus' eyes, Sailor Moon began to feel lightheaded, and her right foot slipped off the track. She blinked, and in a strangely familiar way, Sailor Venus' outline began to blur, like she was underwater, her entire form turning fuzzy as if she would disappear at any moment. A dull pain settled in between her temples, shifting to burst of vertigo, and Sailor Moon wobbled in place. The ground seemed to be moving as if she were stepping continuously in holes. She closed her eyes in an attempt to reorient herself and then the pain left her head only to spread to the center of her chest and turned into a light burn. Sailor Moon clutched at the golden brooch on her chest and she had the powerful urge to pull it away.

"Sailor Moon, I think you should go home," Sailor Venus said lightly. Her voice sounded light-years away.

_Home_? Sailor Moon thought. She did not have a home. No, no, she was Sailor Moon, who fought for love and who fought for justice. She had no time for a home. A home was for someone with a family and who had the time to enjoy it. A normal person. She was not normal. No, she did not have a home. Sailor Moon had no home.

The faint outline of the light posts began to fade completely from her closed eyelids and she continued to clench her fists at her chest, frantically shaking her head, denying the ridiculous of idea of a home. The burning intensified, she refused to open her eyes, refused to give into the inner pull, repeating over and over again in her head that she was and could only ever be Sailor Moon. She was born to fight, born to protect, existed only to serve, _she was Sailor Moon…_

_Go home,_ a voice said, but it was now very far away or perhaps it didn't exist at all. And this time, Sailor Moon gave in to the darkness.

It was not, however, completely dark, for there was also the swirls of light and yellows and reds and greens. Sometimes she had the feeling of falling, or maybe it was of flying, but there was always the ground under her feet and the rushing of air against her face, an ancient dance that had been ingrained into her soul. Eventually she decided that it was not dark, but dim, a muted world that she controlled but only subconsciously, like a reflex. She was aware that if she really wanted to, she could wake up and cage herself into the magic, yet the pull was so soft and tender and relaxing that it was no longer a want but a need. And when her fingers finally reached that invisible threshold, it was then that her eyes truly closed into the darkness.

When they opened, she would no longer be Sailor Moon.


End file.
